Spiderwebs
by BreathlessTao
Summary: AU, gonna focus on several characters, rated for future chapters. Sasuke gets into an all-boys boarding school in his sophomore year, and of course the new student's arrival turns already chaotic relationships upside down.
1. Prologue

Don't own anything, except for the silly plot. Thanks to **MikoGoddess** for betaing.

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'Itachi, you stupid fuck!' Sasuke thought to himself as he was tossing and turning on his bed. He was unable to fall asleep, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop that scene that was constantly replaying in his head, either.

Even though it's been two days. It was two days ago that he witnessed his brother being handcuffed and pushed into the rear of a police car, and then the same thing repeated twice more: Orochimaru and Kankurou met the same fate. But this wasn't the worst of all. Not even that social worker lady who told him what _luck_ it was that the school year's about to start, and how _lucky_ he was because it could be organized that he went to the only boarding school in the town, instead of into any guardianship.

Oh, no.

The worst of it all was his _conscience_. Because Sasuke has known it all too well: the shady paths his brother was walking – and just what for exactly? They've had enough money to buy half of the city and then some, for as long as he could remember, without going bankrupt. Illegal gambling has become a sort of common, everyday fun for Itachi; and he also suspected that one way or another, his brother was also linked to a few prostitutes. But he never thought of drugs. Or, more likely, it did cross his mind on some rare occasion, but he always shrugged it off, thinking that though Itachi wasn't a saint, he wasn't a fool either.

'Drugs, for fuck's sake!'

Of course, Orochimaru showing up was like a signal fire in the night. When Sasuke saw him last time, he was on the late-night news, wanted by the police as the main suspect of arson committed at a local club. Trouble on feet, no doubt, and yet he didn't say a word. It was true that he and Itachi haven't exactly gotten along all that well, but still, he was family. Sasuke's only family.

He sighed and turned on his side, rummaging on the little end table next to his bed. According to his phone, it was half past three in the morning. "Great," he mumbled, letting his head fall back to the pillow, "another year tomorrow…" Sighing again, he came to the conclusion that with his current state of insomnia, he can't be having a nightmare, so all this must be real. This thought however seemed to irk him to no end, so he decided to torture himself with a bit of running. Not like he was much of a bodybuilder, but he was definitely vain enough to keep himself in good shape. And, he couldn't really think of anything better to do anyway.

Despite the fresh air and the music pounding in his ears though, for which he was very grateful, he couldn't get rid of his thoughts: as if a whole army had been climbing up the walls of the fortress that was his mind. 'The only boarding school in town,' he pondered, contrary to all his will, 'is the only _boys-only_ school in town… and I bet everything I have that I'll end up being the roommate of the school's biggest idiot.'

Frowning, he increased his pace: if only he could push himself just a little bit too much, the pain might be able to distract him. At least for a short while.

'Itachi, you stupid fuck!'

xXx

Naruto couldn't help giggling as they were rolling on the ground. Partly because his friend's behavior was greatly amusing him, and partly because Kiba's fingers were simply tickling him. Not as if it had been the boy's intention, it just happened so.

"Kibaaa … enuff!" he managed to blurt out finally.

"Eh? I'm all too clumsy, ne?" the other asked back after he got off Naruto and sat on his heels. "How could I ever think…"

"Relax, you know well enough I'm ticklish," the blonde tried, propping himself up on his elbow. 'And it's true too!' he added silently. "Besides… Just slow down a bit, mkay?"

"I should have asked you earlier!" Kiba almost yelled suddenly, flailing his arms in frustration. "Boy, I _sooo_ knew, I just… argh!"

He got up and stepped to the window, touching his forehead to the cool glass, staring out. From Naruto's room, all that was visible was the school's quite huge foreyard, so he could see the students still arriving from all directions. It was late afternoon, the last day of the summer vacation. Most people procrastinated getting back here for as long as they could – Kiba was sure that some would just barely make it for the very first class tomorrow morning –, his train however brought him back quite early in the morning.

Naruto watched his always-so-cheerful friend with a puzzled look on his face. He should have been helping him, but now he couldn't seem to boost his confidence: the mood swings scared him, and he had no idea how to cheer Kiba up. 'I wouldn't've thought it was this serious… But… He did come for help, didn't he?' he figured, so he stood up too and sneaked his way behind the other boy, who hissed loudly when two arms folded around his waist, and teeth started to nibble on his right ear.

"Na…ru…to… What are you… doing?"

"Uhm… teaching you...?" came the reply in a low, seductive voice, while a body was pressed to his, even more. "Ain't that what you came for?"

"But…nggh! Naruto! A…ny…one can just…s-s-see us from…outside!"

Naruto's hands were dangerously close to Kiba's crotch, and it was evident to him that the boy behind him was definitely enjoying the situation. Before the blonde could have answered though, the door opened and they heard a very familiar voice. A very familiar, very cold voice.

"Oh… that explains everything then. Well, not fully, but…"

They both froze before, following the few blank seconds of a short-circuited mind, Naruto turned around to look at his visitor. Whose identity, sadly, he guessed correctly. The boy with the blood red hair was watching the pair with firm indifference. In his similarly red leather pants and tee, he looked like a flame-pillar.

"Gaara… It's not… You've got it all wrong!" Naruto mumbled, scratching his head.

"Please. There's really nothing to get wrong. Besides, it's not my business anymore, anyway. Got back not long ago and thought I'd bring your books back," the redhead went on with slow monotony, then walked to the bed and dropped the pack from his hands. "There's one thing I'd like to know though: what does he know that I don't?"

He was talking in a low voice, almost whispering, yet the whole scene was much more threatening than yelling and commanding would have been. And he didn't even want to sound threatening at all, it was just the way he's always been: his nature, his personality. He _was_ miffed at the thought of having been replaced with _this_ particular moron, however.

"Gaara, this has nothing to do with us, trust me!"

"If you say so, Naruto… Well, I'm going now" he stated flatly and dry, and by the time the other two regained their senses, he was nowhere to be seen.

"I…I think I better l-leave too, Naruto… Th-thanks for everything and… We'll talk…later…"

Kiba left in a hurry, leaving behind a Naruto in extreme distress, who really found it odd that having met his ex had such an effect on him. After all, it couldn't be avoided, and he did expect it too: obviously, neither of them would have quit the school just because of a relationship that had gone awry. Still, the whole thing just wasn't _right_. These events shouldn't have happened like they did, and what's more: Kiba _really_ didn't have anything to do with their break-up. The poor guy just asked for some advice about the what's and how's, in case he could get together with his secret crush. He had no experience whatsoever in this, and was totally crestfallen.

"Bah, and the year hasn't even started yet," Naruto said to the empty room.

Slowly, some noises from outside found their way to his ears, and when his mind registered it, he turned back to his window, only to notice a group of excited (and loud) girls standing beside a black limousine. What exactly the subject of the excitement was, he couldn't see, but was taken aback by the scene.

"Lucky they can only come as far as the entrance… But who the hell could be in that car...?


	2. Blondes Are Nought But Trouble

_I know, it's been long...but I've picked up this story again. Have 4 more chapters already written, so stay tuned. Un-beta'd again, but hope that's okay. Please review!_

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_

He barely exited the car, but has already been swarmed by girls. It was way beyond him how they could get there so suddenly, or where from, actually, but they were definitely annoying. He couldn't deny the fact that the whole situation has been awfully familiar to him for quite a while now: mostly because of his brother, but lately more and more because of himself as well. They were both blessed, or in Sasuke's case, cursed, by divine good looks; however, only Itachi could be perverted enough not only to enjoy, but also abuse it. Beyond that, they were really filthy rich, and their family was the oldest, most respected one in the whole city. The pack of feral fan girls was like a bundle.

"Sasuke-kun... You don't just want to leave us here like that, do you?" wailed one with a blonde ponytail, latching herself onto the boy's arm.

"Ino, what I want is totally irrelevant. Either this, or guardians," the Uchiha replied. 'In which case, I rather opt for this confinement,' he added mentally, not fancying the snuggling face at his arm the slightest bit.

"Hmm, but my parents wouldn't mind taking care of you, you do know that, right? Not to mention me..."

"Oh, bugger off, Ino, like moving in with you was the exact thing Sasuke would be _dying_ for...?"

"Yeah, 'cuz he'd be so much better off at _your_ place, huh, Sakura?"

The two girls were just about to jump at each other's neck when bright lights started to flash up, blinding everyone. Indeed: the flashes and the sounds of photos being snapped were bundles as well, just like the journalists and the few cameras, which, in some mysterious way that Sasuke would have very much liked to learn, managed to make the army of fans disappear. He was just checking out the place: the brick floor, the flowerbeds, the benches, the giant fountain, the trees - all made up a nice atmosphere. Or, would have, had he been able to decide whether the flashes, or the giggling-turned-whispers were getting more on his nerves. Or if at least he could have shrugged off the thought of how _lucky_ those other students over there were: just headed towards their school, without having to worry about stupid groupies, or having to battle the media. Because, despite his all-time worn accessory, the mask of ignorance, he has been going insane about these _bundles_.

"Uchiha-san, is it true that your brother was arrested?"

"Did he really get into some sort of drug business?"

"Have you indeed come here to evade guardianship?"

'...if I'm kept away from these, it's already more than worth it.'

He sighed, taking the luggage from his driver, who succeeded in obtaining it from the trunk even in the middle of the crowd, and set off towards the entrance.

"No comment" he spat, sparking a burst of objections of course: they painfully wanted some information from the teen. He however, only adjusted the band of his notebook case on his shoulder, and walked away flipping them the bird.

The light of the flashes bounced back from his perfectly polished, black nail, and somehow the noises died down.

- x -

The glass door slid to the side as he approached it, and when he entered the building, the thing he spotted immediately was the emptiness: although a few students were walking around, he didn't see anyone who could point newcomers or guests in the right direction. What he did see, though, were security cameras, not only here, but outside above the door as well. Beyond the door, was a wide staircase leading up to a quite big-looking hall; next to the stairs, a digital bulletin board was flashing its 'Offline' text; while long corridors reached into the distance on his left and right. He looked around, a bit helpless and worried.

"Hey, you, redhead!" He yelled to a boy with flaming red hair, just passing in front of him. The redhead turned towards him slowly. He was wearing red leather pants and a red tee, and it seemed he went just a bit over the edge with the black eyeliner around his pale jade-green eyes. Sasuke however, didn't comment on his appearance, he'd seen much stranger things.

"Hm?"

"Could you please tell me where I can find the principal?"

The redhead raised his arm and pointed straight towards the corridor on the left.

"At the very end, on your left."

"Thanks."

"Welcome," the redhead nodded before turning on his heels and walking away.

'If only all of them was that talkative...' Sasuke thought. The doors looked awfully simple after all the high-tech stuffs, not to mention the foreyard: painted plain white, most of them only with a number on them. Only a select few had distinctive names: Offices I, Library, Offices II, Common Room... The door he was looking for, lacked the number, for a change, with only one word letting the world know whom it belonged to: Principal. He sighed and knocked.

"Come in!" came the not too nice invitation.

Stepping inside, he was pleasantly disappointed: the mostly beige and black pieces of furniture made quite a cozy impression, the calligraphies and the only painting of a lake scene, plus the thriving plant in the only corner of the room that wasn't occupied by filing cabinets, all emanated the feeling of a study room of a posh manor. Or at least, they would have, had it not been for the huge desk, with the even huger chaos on it. Even the name-plate disappeared under the piles of papers and dossiers.

"Well, take a seat" the woman behind the desk pointed at the chair in front of her. She had blonde hair, and blatantly big boobs, and seemed to be totally absorbed in what looked like a contract, so much so that she didn't even want to glance up from behind the paper.

Sasuke complied: he plopped down into the surprisingly comfortable chair and pulled his luggage beside himself. And he waited. For a whole five minutes.

"So, Uchiha Sasuke..." the principal murmured finally, having placed the writing on top of one of the piles and started searching for something. "Welcome to Konoha Boys' Academy, my name's Tsunade…oh, here it is! Your ID card will be ready in two or three days, you can only leave the campus with that during the term and of course it'll also be the key to your suite… here's the school rules, your schedule… classes from 8 to 9.30 and from 10 to 11.30 in the morning, from 1 to 2.30 and from 3 to 4.30 in the afternoon, and erm… please go and visit our doc as soon as you can. Just routine, nothing special. Oh, and grab your uniform from the cloakroom, obviously. As for the accommodation, well… you'll be getting your own suite, of course, but… everything's happened way too sudden and we have to take care of a few things first. Usually we get notices of… students of your level, weeks ahead, you see, but in your case, it was just days that… well… yeah," she went on, basically without even breathing, while she handed over the documents, and looking at Sasuke with such pity that the boy felt like throwing up. She leant to the mic on her table, pressed a button and shouted "Uzumaki Naruto, to my office, now!"

Sasuke eyed her questioningly.

"He's going to be your dorm mate until your suite is ready… if it's okay?"

"I can live with it," Sasuke answered without any interest, his eyes scanning the papers in his hands.

"Yes, well…"

'At least he might rub off well on that idiot while they're together…' the principal thought hopefully. She was pulled back to reality by the knock on her door.

"Come in!"

"You called me, Tsunade-sama?" Asked the blonde head that popped in the door.

"Come on in, Naruto… This here is Uchiha Sasuke, you're going to share your room with him for a short while," she said nodding towards the raven-haired teen, "please show him there?"

"Sure thing, Tsunade-sama… follow me, Sasuke!" Naruto grinned as he tried to pull his new roommate up from the seat by his arm. "I'll take that!" He added when he noticed the hand reaching for the luggage.

"If you insist…" Sasuke said, standing up.

"Any question, Sasuke?"

"Actually… we do have internet access here, right?"

"Oh, of course, of course… hang on, it's got to be here somewhere too…"

She was rummaging through the drawers of her desk, but when she got to the third or fourth one, she sighed, giving up, and scratched her head.

"I'm sorry, I guess you'll have to find our system admin… Naruto can help you there as well; it seems the chaos here is bigger than I thought… is that all?"

"Hn… yes, that's all."

"Well, then… I hope it won't be as bad as you probably have been expecting… and Naruto?" She called out to the boy already standing outside in front of the door.

"Y-yes, Tsunade-sama?"

"Change into your uniform!"

"Y-y-yes, Tsunade-sama… come on, Sasuke!"

The Uchiha had serious doubts about his roommate. Somehow he had the impression that the boy was loud, obnoxious, silly, and inappropriate: in general, his polar opposite. Although the simple white tee and orange shorts made him look quite normal, there was something in his grin, or maybe in his giant cerulean eyes, that sent a nervous tingling in his stomach, which was totally new to him.

'_Meh. Give him a chance, Sasuke… he probably isn't any better off with a complete stranger,_' he concluded.

- x -

Naruto should have been used to battling his own emotions, but this time, the battle against his excitement was more difficult than any time before. Uchiha Sasuke was stranger to no one, well, considering his identity, anyway, and he couldn't believe that the boy was now there, what's more: they were going to be roommates. The fact that he was even more of a heartthrob in person than in TV or photos only amplified the intensity of the situation. Naruto's eyes were drawn to Sasuke's neck by the fan-medallion he wore on what looked like black velvet choker; the tight black tee, also sporting the same fan on the back, basically showcasing his upper body; the faded grey denims emphasized his butt in such a way that the blonde could hardly keep himself from drooling literally.

"Ooof…" he grunted as he tripped over a step. Luckily for him, Sasuke was quick to react and caught him before he could have fallen over. The way he grabbed his upper arm wasn't exactly painless, but he was grateful nonetheless.

"Look where you step, hm?

"S-sure, I was just…um…hehe, thanks for catching me…" Naruto babbled, scratching his head nervously.  
"Hn."

- x -

They climbed four flights of steps before Naruto turned into a corridor.

"The toilets," he pointed to the first door on the left then started walking in the opposite direction, "and the showers here… Thought you'd've asked that anyway… hehe…"

"Hn."

"It's only dorms on this floor by the way, forty altogether… People who… um… weeellll, people who can't afford all the extras… like… me…" the blonde went on chatting, but when he got to the money issues, he couldn't fight the blush that crept on his face. He sped up, hoping to get ahead of Sasuke so that he wouldn't notice his shame.

"You mean those who didn't buy their way in but actually worked for it?" The raven mused, rewording the situation and didn't stop at all, contrary to Naruto whose legs seemed to have acquired a mind of their own and decided not to move, allowing Sasuke to pass by him. "Maybe I should stay here permanently… Aren't you coming?" He turned back.

Naruto's face was even redder now, but not from shame: he felt good at the implicit compliment, and he wasn't used to it.

"I … err … ugh, right," he gulped, "let's go…"

It was only a few doors they proceeded when Sasuke heard the beeping sound that was the acceptance of Naruto's card.

"Here you go!" He said, opening his door wide, grinning again. "No big, but there's enough room… Well, do enter!"

It wasn't big indeed: a window opposite to the door; a bed in each corner with a small end table next to both of them; a wardrobe at the end of each bed; a bookshelf to the left of the door, with a few books stacked on it; a desk and a chair on the right. An incense cone was filling the place with the scent of sandalwood.

"Hn… at least there are no cameras in here," Sasuke muttered.

"Hehe, what's on your mind, Sasuke?"

"Nothing, dobe, I just prefer not to have an audience."

"Oi, I have a name, you know?"

"I know, dobe."

"Then… then would you mind calling me by that?" Naruto snapped, trying to emphasize his point by flailing his arms, which only managed to make him look childish in Sasuke's eyes.

"Hn."

"Gah… which bed do you want, _teme_? I've…"

"Doesn't matter, so since you've already occupied that one, I'll take this…"

Sasuke stepped to the bed on the right and put down his laptop case while Naruto pulled the luggage to the wardrobe.

"Look, I hate asking for favors, but I do have some things to take care of, and I've no idea of the layout of the place, so-…"

"No worries, I have to show you around anyways, right?" Naruto grinned. "But er… I thought I'd change first, if that's okay, the old hag's too adamant on those stupid uniforms, I swear…"

"Suit yourself."

The Uchiha walked to the window and stared out: the limousine was long gone, so were the vultures of the media as well, only a few stray girls were still hanging around the fountain.

Although he's never really been bashful, Naruto was now somehow embarrassed by the other boy's presence, so when he practically turned his back to him, he felt relieved. Even more so when said other boy's phone rang.

"…the hell needs me at this time?" Sasuke mumbled as he fished his cell out of his pocket. A glance at the display – a huff at the information there: it was Itachi's lawyer. He lifted it to his ear.

"Hn? … Yeah … yeah … yeah, I guess, I mean … well, he didn't say..? Great. Right … Tomorrow? Half past eleven … definitely … alright … tomorrow then."

As much as he tried to listen in on the conversation while he put on the dark green pants and the graphite colored shirt, he couldn't make much sense of his roommate's words. His mind was too much occupied with the sad fact that even after a year, he absolutely hated the uniform. Tying his shoelaces, he decided against the necktie: it would have been too much for the few hours that were left of the day, so it ended up thrown on his bed.

"Shall we…?"

Sasuke turned around and was about to utter a _yes_ when he looked at Naruto.

"That's the uniform?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Um, actually, there's the tie and it has a jacket too, but I can't be fucked about them… don't like it?"

"Pfeh…uniform," he shrugged as he walked to the door.

"Er, where are we going to by the way?"

The Uchiha glanced at his phone again before pocketing it: 4.03. He hadn't the slightest about what could be done and until when, but he certainly hoped he could get everything done before the end of the day.

"A visit to the doc, grab my uniform, and a visit to the admin too, I hate not being able to access all my stuff properly. And I have a feeling that by the time I'm done with all this, we might as well have dinner."  
"Oh, don't worry about dinner, cafeteria's open 'til 8, and the snack bar's 'til curfew… that's ten o'clock by the way… c'mon!"

- x -

_C'mon_ – the phrase was echoing in Sasuke's head when he could finally sit down to his dinner: he felt like a dog who had to follow his master, no matter what. Not that he wanted to be cruel, but truth be told, Naruto made his head ache, however unintentionally. The blonde couldn't know that Sasuke's never been able to endure energy bombs like him. He just wanted to make a good impression by being helpful, which he actually managed to, if only with a bit of a side effect.

Eventually, Sasuke couldn't retrieve a uniform but at least his measurements were taken ("It'll be ready in a few days, Uchiha-san!"); the school doctor was actually a woman whose niceness was on the edge of having a detrimental effect on her knowledge and authority – though she didn't seem to be aware of it, or just didn't care: Sasuke couldn't decide; the system admin was reluctant at first to add a cell phone to the network, but the Uchiha's stare convinced him in no time.

Contrary to their room, the school itself was rather huge. There was a northern and a southern building, five stories each plus the basements of course, separated by a large yard which had a few trees here and there, and some chairs and tables in one of its corners, with a roofed pool on one side and a tennis-and-basketball court on the other. The cafeteria was available from the streets for the public as well, and it looked quite decent: several meals, two menus, from which, Sasuke assumed, everyone attending the school and not willing or able to pay on their own could choose from, and of course, occupied tables and excited chatters that grew into general noise.

A few tables away Sasuke noticed the redhead he'd asked directions for earlier: he was with a guy who seemed to have white eyes and who seemed to be kissing the redhead on the mouth – seeing the scene, the chopsticks stopped in his hands as he stared intently.

"…Sasuke? Hullo?" he suddenly heard the blonde's voice from his right as he too arrived with a tray. Naruto sat down and looked the same direction as the Uchiha.

"Hn? What?"

"Eheh… it's not polite to stare, Sasuke…" Naruto giggled and winked at the other teen.

"Tsk… I wasn't staring, dobe," he stated and returned to his food.

"Sure, sure, Sasuke… Hum… how odd, Gaara and Neji… Although, thinking of it… maybe not…"

"That redhead had seemed kinda strange…"

"Eeeeh? Wh-wh-what do you mean? You know him?" Naruto panicked, not really being able to put his finger on the reason however.

"Hn… Just stumbled into him when I arrived," Sasuke shrugged, "I had to know where to find the principal. And compared to these," he added, nodding towards the crowd around them, "it's like he doesn't even fit in at all. Not very talkative."

Once again, Naruto realized he was fighting the blood flooding his cheeks. It wasn't clear if Sasuke simply stated a fact, or was at the same time also hinting at the fact that the blonde couldn't really shut up. He didn't want to annoy the boy, and was scared that he's already managed to. He seemed to shrink in his seat.

"Um, well, you know… Many of us here have quite the stories to tell and Gaara's no exception either. But… he's not a bad guy, really, just… probably took the breakup more serious than I'd've thought. Ummm…"

Realizing he let things slip out his mouth again that he definitely did not want slipped, he quickly tucked in the bowl of steaming ramen in front of him. He hoped that Sasuke wouldn't catch the point, or if he does, he won't be interested in the details, but he had no such luck.

"Breakup?"

"Euhm… wellll… you know…"

"So the two of you were together…for how long?"

"Errr…"

"And why did you break up?"

"ARGH! WHAT'S WITH THE INTERROGATION? IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, ALRIGHT?" Naruto jumped up suddenly, yelling just a bit louder than he intended to, resulting in several pairs of eyes now focusing on him. "I mean… well…" he mumbled as he sat back, totally defeated now, by his emotions as well as the blush. Sasuke just raised his eyebrows again but remained silent: his onyx stare piercing through Naruto with interest. "If you really want to know, it was just a summer fling, we broke up last week. Because it just didn't work."  
"Hn… No wonder, he doesn't seem like the type that's into kids," Sasuke said, smirking.  
"I'm not a kid!"  
"Sure…"  
"Am not, whatever you say!" Naruto stated, pouting and crossing his arms on his chest.

- x -

It was past eleven-thirty when Naruto finally turned the lights off. Sasuke sighed: he felt exhausted, mainly because of his new roommate. He felt that it wasn't intentional: it was part of Naruto's personality, and it was either too hard to control or the blonde was just sick of the continuous acting. _He_ really did know how tough it could be…

"Sasuke?" He heard his name from the other bed. "You asleep?"

"Ngh… no, not yet… what do you want?"

"Just… um… sorry… I didn't mean to snap like that at dinner, you know. I guess that breakup's also been weighing down more on me than it should… I dunno."

The Uchiha was surprised by Naruto's words. After all, he didn't commit a crime, he didn't hurt or offend him, and he certainly didn't see any problem with people losing their temper – even if he himself was not one of those.

"Think nothing of it, dobe. Don't be stressed about it."

"Sasuke?"

"…Hn?"

"I'm glad that you're here. I mean… I've never had a roommate before, and I've always been anxious about… you know, getting a jerk to be my first… but I think you're a nice guy."

"…good night, dobe."

"Mmhm… sleep well, Sasuke."


	3. A Hard Day's Morning

_**Author's note: **So I finally got my lazy bum to get this into English as well. No idea if anyone's reading this at all...but I actually do have like 6 more chapters of it ready, and ideas to continue further...just not in English. I'm just under a lot of pressure, and translating is mindnumbing, really. But anyway, no one's interested in an author's rambling I guess, so on with the story. Hope you enjoy and plz review?_

* * *

"Oh, come on, _otouto_… You know I can take care of myself", said Itachi with a sickeningly sweet smile on his lips. It took a great deal of effort on Sasuke's part not to simply attack his brother, but he managed to hold himself back. Closing his eyes, he let out a big sigh and turned on his heels.

"As if I was concerned for _you_…"

He didn't let, he couldn't let Itachi anger him, no matter how infuriating the situation was. He couldn't have told what enraged him more actually: the fact that _those_ two people were brought into their home again, or the potential consequences of the press getting a hint at just whom the elder Uchiha has been hanging out again.

"Sasuke!" He heard from behind as he was about to walk away from the door.

"I know, I know, don't you worry. I'm silent as a grave.

As if he was being considered a complete fool. Or did his brother really have no trust in him whatsoever? But then, what sense did the whole thing make? It was only a bad act, anyway.

He ascended the stairs to his room and tried to resume reading the book he'd started a few weeks before, but the letters started flowing down the pages after a short while: he was unable to concentrate. The smoke from downstairs quickly reached his room, despite the size of their house, and not even the open window could make any difference, no matter how chilly the rain made the night air. It did enable him to hear the screeching sounds of cars braking on their driveway. Jumping up from his sofa, he looked out, directing his gaze downwards: commandos were swarming their compound from the three black vans that came to a sudden halt just in front of the stairs leading to the doors.

By the time he got to his senses and ran downstairs, it was too late: his brother was being handcuffed and led out of the house, then the scene repeated twice more with the other two guys. All without one word, without any resistance.

"Ita-…" he jerked towards the door, but was halted by a machine gun pressing against his chest.

Itachi looked towards him as he was pushed into the backseat of a police car that must have arrived in the few minutes since he noticed the vans, and shook his head silently, in a barely noticable way.

Nothing remained, but the thunder and the fading sounds of the sirens…

- x -

Sasuke sat bolt upright in his bed: his face and body drenched in cold sweat, his breathing heavy and erratic. Sirens were still echoing in his ears, something which he seemed unable to escape. He had a quite strong sense of déjà vu, as if he had awoken from _this_ dream in the middle of the night just enough times. About every night, since the events actually happened.

His clock showed 1.37: each time he woke up just a bit earlier, and though he did miss sleeping, it didn't seem like he could have done anything about it. Dressing up and plugging the tiny pieces of plastic in his ears after having attached his phone to his upper arm was rather a routine by now. And no one said anything about going out to the yard being forbidden.

But just as he stepped to the door, his eyes wandered to Naruto's bed. The blonde was lying there in a rather awkward position with his head almost hanging off at the end, his pillow and sheets on the ground, and his tank top all wrinkled up, baring his stomach. Still, judged by the snoring, all this probably didn't disturb Naruto at all. Sasuke shook his head and picked the keycard up from the blonde's nightstand, being sure that he'd be back sooner than the other woke up, pressed the play button on his headset and left the room.

He wanted to get his mind off his family, the past as well as the more recent events, but not even the cold wind and the music could stop his memories flooding. He snorted as he remembered the movie _The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner_ – he virtually fell asleep watching it, and still, currently he couldn't help feeling ironically all too similar to Colin.

As if the helicopter-accident, after which he could never see his parents again, hadn't been enough. The helicopter-accident, the circumstances of which were still not clear, and which trying to ask his brother of always seemed to be in vain. A fleeting sensation in his head has been giving him the impression that Itachi knew something that was not leaked to the press – and not told even to him. As if he had no right to know! As if he was just a little child!

As if it hadn't been enough that the giant media empire, that their parents had built up, became their responsibility. Sure, he was grateful for his mother and father, for having always worked so hard: after all, everything they owned was thanks to them. The manor, the compound, the expensive private schools and teachers, the whole wealth – their heirloom. They didn't as much as had to open their mouth if they wanted something, it was already granted, be it an umpteenth, probably unnecessary, highly expensive gadget, or some sort of study or training course or a common holiday on the other side of the world. But the responsibility that fell on their shoulders after the death of their parents was just too big.

Their last will, of course, contained the outline of how the company, and their money, was to be controlled and by whom, basically sealing them off from everything until they turned 21, Itachi managed to find those tiny loopholes all too quickly. And because everything was done in a perfectly legal way, by the senior Uchiha, no less, no one even dared to stand up to him. He's been pulling the strings from the background like a puppet master, and thought Sasuke despised the shady businesses he got into, without anyone's knowledge, naturally, he had to admit: he's been doing everything perfectly.

'_Foolish little Sasuke,_' he remembered a much earlier, but just as nightly conversation of theirs. '_Feel free to think that our parents had been innocent, if that makes me feel better, I couldn't care less. But don't for a moment think that you can set me aside._'

He shivered at the memory of those words, not to mention at the tone he heard them spoken back then. A strange, dangerous kind of self-confidence was oozing from Itachi's lips then, making him want to punch his brother's face at the very least, even knowing that he could have grabbed his wrist with no effort whatsoever; but helplessness had been weighing down on him heavily back then.

It wasn't long after that night that he found the way to at least keep his eyes on Itachi. He contacted a lawyer who confirmed that being an Uchiha enabled him to have knowledge of whatever was going on at the company: though he was still far from adulthood, given the circumstances, his curiosity was perfectly normal.

The sudden vibration of his phone forced him to stop, both mentally with his thoughts and physically with his running. While he fished the device out of its pouch, he was content to acknowledge that in spite of the cold, he managed to work up a sweat: lost in his ponderings, he never realized how much he was pushing himself. He sat down under a tree and glanced at the display, noting a new email. Poking the small icon, he was presented with the short message: "_They found nothing._"

The field of the sender's address was blank just as well as the subject, the date and time of the message was filled only with zeros. He, of course, knew at once who the email was from, and that only left him staring nonplussed into the distance. That was not what he's been expecting.

He sighed. To say he _liked_ Itachi would have been a lie, and it probably would have been the other way around as well. But he couldn't deny that they were related. Or at least he really wished he couldn't deny that, but if there really wasn't anything…

"To Hell with it!" He suddenly cried out loud.

As if the tragedy, the inheritance, and his brother's unscrupulousness hadn't been enough, now he was even locked up. Not behind bars, for sure, but a constant feeling was nagging him, saying that he had no more _options_ here than Itachi had in the jail. And _now_, he really would have been grateful for options.

- x -

It was five in the morning by the time he returned to their room, to hear odd noises from inside: thuds, creeks, groans and whimpers indicating that something was not okay in there. Sure enough, as soon as he opened the door, he saw Naruto thrashing around on his bed, albeit he was apparently still asleep. Or would have been, anyway, had he not been tortured by what must have been a nightmare. Snorting, Sasuke leaped to the bed, practically tearing the plugs out of his ears.

"Naruto", he called out his name, placing a hand on the blonde's shoulder.

"Nooo… Ugh… Don't… Don't do that!"

"Naruto! Wake up!" He tried again, this time shaking his shoulder.

Naruto's eyes popped open as he sat up and moved back to the wall, shying away from Sasuke's touch.

"What…? Where…?" He looked around, confused, but it didn't look like he was seeing much. Unlike Sasuke, he was not sweating, and was breathing in a perfectly normal way as well, but seemed to be much more disoriented. Sasuke stood up and went to the window to let in the first rays of the rising sun.

"Relax, it's just me. Sasuke. Roommate, remember?" The Uchiha explained in a low voice.

"Sasu…ke?" He asked in a still hesitant tone.

"You had a bad dream."

"Dream… I was only…dreaming…?"

"Well, this time, anyway. You were throwing yourself left and right and were talking too."

The first signs of calmness just appeared on Naruto's face when the information of him having talked brought back dark clouds of worry, in the form of a frown.

"Wh-what… what did I…say?"

"Not much," Sasuke shrugged. "You were just repeating '_no, don't do that!_'… It's all I heard, anyway."

"Oh…" Naruto grunted. He looked relieved, but took a big breath and lifted his hand to his forehead. "I… Thanks for waking me up."

"Hn. Guess I got back just in time," Sasuke answered indifferently. It just dawned on the blonde that his roommate was wearing a track suit and a pair of sneakers, although the small amount of light coming from outside surely didn't warrant for being up and about. He definitely hasn't had to turn off his alarm yet.

"…back?" He asked, not very eloquent.

"Hn. I couldn't really sleep so I thought I'd go running. By the way," he explained and turned around, scanning the room, to find what he was looking for not far from the door on the floor. He picked it up and dropped it on Naruto's nightstand. "Your keycard. Took the liberty of borrowing it, to be able to let myself in without waking you up. Hope you don't mind."

"Oh, um… N-no, of c-course not… Though you did have to wake me up, eventually… um…"

"…you sure you don't want to talk about it?" Sasuke finally asked, seeing how Naruto was still suffering from the after-effects of his nightmare.

"Huh? Oh, um… N-no, I don't think so. … 'twas just a stupid d-dream, after all… Wasn't it?" He stuttered nervously. "But um… Thanks, I guess…"

"Right. I go take a shower then."

"Sure, okay… Iiii…try to pull myself together in the meantime…"

- x -

Approximately two hours later, Naruto was feeling much better. He was, actually, his old self, as much as Sasuke could tell after such a short time of knowing him. He was holding a small mirror in one of his hands, while trying to apply some red make-up on his eyes.

"Dobe, if you don't want to come alone, hurry up. I don't feel like having to gulp down my coffee in like five minutes. And you still don't even have your necktie," Sasuke said, urging his roommate. Actually he knew very well himself, because he noticed it, that Naruto's necktie has been collecting the dust under the blonde's bed, but he wasn't bothered by it enough to let him know. Now however, that they didn't have one hour until the start of their first class, he was growing impatient.

"Argh…shit! Okay, okay, I'm almost…done…with this…" He went on, his hand not stopping. "Just…like…that…there! … So, what do you think?" He turned around suddenly, with a stupid grin on his face. Sasuke looked at the yellow contact lenses and the red eyeshadow and he had to conclude that the effect perfectly backstabbed the formal uniform.

"Awesome" he said in a bored voice. "Don't you think the teacher's are going to be…say, a mite pissed off?"

"Uh-uh-uuuh, Sasuke" Naruto shook his head, wiggling his index finger a mere few inches in front of Sasuke's nose. "That's just the point of it, to piss them off. Don't tell me the first day of our prison sentence needs no…balancing out."

_Prison sentence._

He was a bit sensitive to the word usage, but he tried not to show it. It reminded him that he also had a meeting with his brother's lawyer during the day, and suddenly he was in no mood for it.

"Sasuke? … Oh, well, nevermind, I guess. Um… Right, the tie! … Wouldn't be surprised if I'd just thrown it outta the window…hehe…"

He almost climbed into the drawers of his cupboard, throwing out different articles of clothing, and with the growth of the pile of shirts, sweaters, pants, boxers and socks outside, the hope of finding the one thing he was looking for, seemed to shrink more and more.

"I can't believe this, I had it in my hands just yesterday…"

Sasuke heaved a sigh and pulled the annoying piece of fabric out from under the bed, trying to rid it of the dust.

"Might this be the one you're looking for?" He asked, placing it around Naruto's neck and turning him around to face him to be able to tie it too.

"Uh, y-yes, but-…"

"It was under your bed."

"Oh…should've thought, but-…"

"Don't worry, I cleared the dust off."

"Um, thanks, but-…"

"Would you stay still already?" Sasuke growled, and Naruto had no choice but to endure being dressed up, with a slight tinge of pink on his cheeks.

"Th-thanks, but… I could've done it myself," he tried showing annoyance, only to hide his embarrassment, when Sasuke was done with him.

"Sure. In like, fifteen or twenty minutes. Can we go now?"

- x -

"Um…Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"What… What _is_ our first class, actually?" Naruto asked, sipping his coffee, making Sasuke glance up at him with a questioning look from behind his laptop's screen.

"You didn't get a schedule, dobe?"

"Uhh… Hehe, I don't make a habit of checking it…"

All of a sudden, the Uchiha failed at attempting to imagine how this bloke could achieve results that enabled him to stay in this school for this long. Especially thinking back of the scene just a few minutes earlier: the mess, the _chaos_, that seemed to surround Naruto.

"Literature" he blurted out finally and directed his eyes back to the screen.

"WHAAAAA'?" Naruto freaked out. "Noooo... Please tell me it's not with Jiraiya sensei again…?"

Sasuke didn't know what to make of this sudden outburst, so he just raised his eyebrows again.

"That man's a freakin' pervert…I swear! If the old hag wasn't keeping her eyes on him, our lists of compulsory reading would consist of nothing but porn! Not that he wouldn't want to…umm…so, he tries to smuggle his works in classes anyway…" He explained, gazing into his cup, defeated.

"…his works?" Sasuke asked. '_He doesn't mean…?_'

"He writes books, Sasuke," Naruto nodded, "_that_ sort of books…"

"Hn…"

'_Yes, yes he did._' He scratched his head. Surely it wasn't an everyday phenomenon, but after all, that probably did not decrease the man's teaching qualities.

"You don't get it," Naruto pressed on. "Usually he… gets inspiration from his own… adventures. _Women_, Sasuke! So many that it'd be too much for even a whole harem! Andandand… He's always telling…stories… And suggesting his books for us to read!"

"…I really do not get it. Why's that so bad? What's wrong with women?"

'…_Uchiha, you couldn't be a bigger hypocrite if you tried,_' he berated himself the instant the words left his mouth. It was a fact that he usually found women attractive, but that was strictly limited to their appearance. Younger or older, he had yet to meet one that didn't get on his nerves in but a few minutes.

Hearing the questions, Naruto was more than a bit surprised: it hurt him that the other was suddenly showing such an insensitive side, after all, as far as he knew, he did nothing to deserve it. He gazed into his cup even more intently, as if there had been something very interesting in it.

Sasuke, of course, smacked himself in the head mentally a second time, as soon as he looked at the blonde…

"That's not what I meant."

…but had very little to no experience at apologizing.

"Yeah, I know," Naruto mumbled, forcing a smile on his face as he looked up at the other boy. "Nevermind. Guess you're not really used to such an environment… And here everything's even weirder than elsewhere. Y'know what? I get you one of the perv's books to read it. Just so you can see what's wrong with them."

"I can't wait…" Sasuke said with not much enthusiasm. But he knew it was the least to endure for his rude-ish behavior: he had to atone somehow for that comment that was totally uncalled for. Even if he really did not mean it like that. He drank the last of his coffee, closed his laptop and stood up. "Let's go, I don't want to be late."

"Eurgh…this coffee tastes like shit…" Naruto grimaced.

"How so?"

"Well… It should kick-start your day, giving you an energy boost, right? But…it's just _boring_…and no amount of milk or sugar can help that. Why don't they give it some flavor? Like…iunno…orange? Vanilla and raspberry? Would be much funkier… Start the day with _this_, pfeh… Might as well hide in a dark corner with a personal cloud above the head, from which the rain doesn't stop pouring down… don't you think?"

"Your imagination is way too wild, dobe," the raven replied, shaking his head. "Coffee's good as it is: black."

Naruto stared at him, unbelieving. Sure the strong, bitter taste definitely suited Sasuke's personality, but regardless of that, he could not imagine how anyone was able to drink it like _that_.

"Are you coming?"

"Ooh, um…yeah, sure…"


End file.
